The actress and singer Sophie Tsadaka, forever “the Samaritan”, speaks in a frank conversation about the identity from which she ‘cut’ 25 years ago. “I run away from definitions. They destroy the world, reduce and diminish you,” she states.
“For years I was a part of the Samaritan world and then I left. This place is no longer a part of me, there is nothing left. Loneliness is my lot and it’s good for me to live without a definition,” she says.
And if you are urged to define?
“To those who insist, as happened to me at one of the auditions when I was asked ‘So what are you?’, I reply that I am a ‘servant of God.’ I believe in God. And my way is the way of my ancestors.”
Could it be that you are sorry that you converted?
“When I converted I had no choice. Today I know I took an amazing step. Last August my daughter Chen got married. Her husband is a priest. Had I not converted she would not have been able to marry according to Judaism. That is why it was important that I sat in a seminary and studied Judaism for two years.”
Practical thought.
“As a mother of children, you are also required to think in a practical way. When I left the Samaritan community as a young woman in the twenties, I asked myself, ‘So who am I now?’, and since I wanted a family and children, I did well. Unlike Christianity or Islam, Judaism requires converts to go through a process, Desire it with all your heart, soul and love.
Thanks to this, the Jewish people survived in the diaspora without a state and without an army, but only thanks to values and ancient history. God forbid I don’t belittle that, but I have a hard time with definitions and labels,” she said.
And if we are talking about Judaism. Sophie Tsadaka teaches the week’s Torah for women, in two locations: in her home in Tel Aviv and in the ‘Kall Yisrael’ synagogue in Ramat Aviv. “The Torah is my road map. I believe that the Torah of the week coincides with our lives today, when we connect the new with the old. The lessons of the Torah are a spiritual bird,” she quips.
At the beginning of the 2000s, after she crossed the lines from the Samaritan congregation straight to prime time Tzadaka was a star. She was injured in the first telenovela “The Life of Love” in the role of Rona alongside Yehuda Levy. Appeared on television programs, hosted “HaKsafet” with Erez Tal, was a host on the children’s channel, jumped at festivals until she knew it, starred in children’s tapes, acted in children’s shows and led campaigns, then she disappeared from prime time and went to make music.
“When I entered the world of entertainment and on stage, I was very green, not yet cooked. It took me a while to understand what I wanted to say, how I wanted to show my things and my art, and all these struggles happened to me when I was already in prime time. My father used to say that it was ‘my tuition And he was right. I am thankful for everything I did, including the mistakes, that is what connected me to the path I should have reached,” she shares.
“When I started to understand what I wanted, I knew that I wanted two things: to make music and not to take off my sweats. That is, to do what I love, so that I will be comfortable and be able to eat and pay Sh.D. With music, I refined myself to a place I like,” she testifies.
“And I still continued to play the roles of fairies and princesses in children’s shows, and only when I reached the age of 40 did I say to myself, ‘Enough, I’m done.’
In 2014 Tsedka founded the musical group “Sophie and the Bloods” with four other musicians who play and sing ancient prayers and hymns, which became the soundtrack associated with her and accompanied by another, the instrument she has been playing for the past 13 years. “I have been in love with this instrument since childhood. I promised myself that if I ever learn to play, it will only be on oud. My father adored Abdel Wahab while my mother admires Farid al Atrash, two great musicians who played oud.”
I remember my father recording on cassettes concerts from Kol Israel in Arabic, and when he would listen to the music his eyes would light up. You can say that we had at home Abd al Wahab camp and Farid al Atrash camp, Style Ofra and Jordana. Arabic music is rich, varied and exciting and has more than 800 maqams. Also the language of course. I speak Arabic well. The Arabic language is my childhood landscape that ranges between Holon and Gerizim.”
Is ancient music the connection?
“I have a hard time with songs whose entire content is ‘why did you leave me’, ‘why didn’t you come’, songs that deal with the empowerment of the ego, the self-love or the sacrifices of those who wrote and performed. As an artist and musician I want to give my listeners a different experience, through a work that sits on the shoulders of Those that preceded us and at the same time, she also brings something new,” she says.
“Our music touches on ancient – bloody songs – played with 3,000-year-old ancient instruments and an innovative twist of computer and beats, which create a heartfelt connection between the past and the future. We renew poetry in Hebrew and Arabic, Shlomo the King, the Song of the Sea, and more.”
On the occasion of Women’s Month, Sophie Zadaka together with the singer Hadar Maoz preserves in her work the roots of Persian Bukhari music, Maalot a joint and sharp performance
“The Crime” times, which will take place tonight (13.3) at 21:00 at the Inbal Theater in Tel Aviv. Charity in singing, playing oud and drums, Maoz playing tar and drums. Together with them on the stage are my colleagues Farina (keyboards) and Itamar Tal (percussion and flute).
The show includes songs of praise to the world of music, singing and drumming in Hebrew culture with a touch on the musical origins of the people of Israel that are passed down from generation to generation
For 3500 years. Last week, a new song was also released, performed by Sofi Tsedaka and the Baladim, a new arrangement and melody for the ‘Shit of the Herbs’ (composed by Amiti Farinta to the words of Rabbi Nachman of Breslav, arranged by Naomi Shemer).
At the same time as she was busy with music, Sofi Tsadaka returned to playing on stages. These days she appears in two plays, both plays from the late 1980s that are being reworked. One is ‘The Evening They Dance’, at the Jaffa Theater. A theater show that includes movement and dance that takes place in a Jaffa dance hall.
“I am stepping into the big shoes of Ronit Alkabats who played the character of the artist Lola and is now Lily in the current version. I did not know Ronit personally, but when she entered the room, her strong and bewitching charisma filled the room,” Tsadaka shares.
The second show ‘I’m here because of my wife’ at the North Theater, a comedy adapted by a writer and directed by Gadi Tsadaka, dealing with three couples who come for marriage counseling, with Sophie Tsadaka in the role of Galit. “It amazes me every time how we are developing technologically, but when it comes to relationships, we are stuck in the stone age. Exactly the same dilemmas,” she says.
About the relationship with the play’s director Gadi Tzada, who is also a member of the Samaritan community, she says: “Our grandfathers are brothers. But as a child we had no connection. I met Gadi here in the play, what a special man.”
The play that came up only three months ago became a resounding success. “The audience votes with their feet. This month alone we have 20 shows,” she marvels.
“As far as I’m concerned, the platform on which I present my art is less important. This time it’s stage art. I can be a singer, a director, an actress or a host, the main thing for me is to touch people, create a conversation, connect and move. I come with an open heart. It’s funny that people always ask me What do I like more, television or stage?”.
what do you answer
“Both and both. But I like the stage more than television. I like the direct contact and connection with the audience, when everything is alive and cool it makes me like it. Today there are no telenovelas anymore but there is reality. I have been offered many times to join ‘Big Brother’ , but I didn’t find myself in it. God forbid, I neither judge nor belittle the participants. The reality show also produced wonderful sweets, alongside those that are less wonderful.”
Does money create appreciation for the artist?
“Look at a great singer like Amy Winehouse. I fell in love with her music. She had everything, money, success, awards and everyone’s love, but her soul was spoiled. In the past I was blown away by money, but I believe that every good thing has its measure. Of course I wasn’t Want to endure shortages and repeat the openings.
“But, again, I go back to my father, who used to laugh and say about money: ‘The Queen of England and I eat the same breakfast,’ that is, how many eggs can a person eat in one meal? But this month, look what it is, I have almost no free evening to be at home , I move between plays, shows and musical performances,” says Tsadaka.
She has lived in Tel Aviv for the past 15 years with her partner Niso and their 12-year-old son Ariel. “The first marriage was short and from them Beti Chen was born. In this second relationship, there is no pressure, the commitment is in the heart,” she notes.
Does the situation in Israel touch your heart?
“I try to avoid news and politics that divides the people. It makes me very sad. I wish the whole idea of politics would disappear from the world. Today everything is charged and extreme, extreme right, extreme left. I feel it even when I walk down the street. I hope we are a smart enough people And we won’t get to the point of an explosion. We went through tougher things than those and came out knowing they were on top. I wish we could reach a healthy balance this time,” she concluded.
The show of Sophie and the “Bladim” will be held on 30.3 at Thao – Culture, Art and Content in Herzliya